Route 5 is a short north-south path located in central Kanto. Its northern terminus is at Cerulean City and its southern terminus is at Saffron City. In the games prominently featuring Kanto, the thirsty guard at the lookout station that separates Saffron from Route 5 will not let anyone pass through to Saffron until someone gets them a drink (Tea in Generation III; Lemonade, Water, or Soda Pop in Generation I) from the Celadon Department Store located in Celadon City. There is also a Pokémon Day Care house run by an old man located on the route who will take care of one Pokémon given by a Trainer, however, this will become an average house in Generation II.

Route description

Route 5 is a small pathway that is divided into three vertical parts: two pathways and a one-way, grass-filled middle with ledges that separates the two two-way paths. This middle section, accessible only from the Cerulean end, leads to the Pokémon Day Care just north of Saffron. The route is a simple north-south path with no turns other than those at the termini as it enters the cities of Cerulean and Saffron.

Route 5 can be accessed two ways from Cerulean City: by cutting the cut-able trees on the southern portion of the city, or by going around city from the house attacked by the Team Rocket grunt. At this point the route turns south, while Trainers can choose between going down the ledges or by traveling around it. If Trainers choose one of the pathways east or west of the ledged pathway, that will travel south until they get to the lookout station to Saffron City.

If Trainers choose the ledged path, it is a one-way path around down the contoured hill. If a Trainer jumps the first ledge, they must travel south, jumping the two other ledges and traveling through the small patches of tall grass after each route. Once Trainer's have clear the two remaining ledges, there stands a small house of an old man running a Pokémon Day Care. Pokémon in the Day Care gain one experience point per step the player takes. It is free to put a Pokémon into the Day Care, and costs 100 plus an additional 100 for each level gained to take a Pokémon out. The Pokémon Day Care is removed in Generation II and replaced with a house of which an old woman dwells, giving away a Cleanse Tag to Trainers who enter.

There is also an Underground Path on the south-eastern corner of Route 5 that passes under Saffron and comes out on Route 6 in the south, north of Vermilion City. This path is to allow Trainers and other people to pass Saffron without traveling through the city itself, which comes to a convenience during the period when the the Officers at the city's lookout stations are thirsty and will not let anyone through.

A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Differences among generations

Generations I and III

In Generations I and III, the layout is the same. The depiction of Route 5 is almost identical in Generations I and III. Only trivial changes are visible between these two Generations. In Generation III, the Pokémon Day Care is located closer to the edge of the ledge, making it easier for Trainer's to mistaking jump off the side, causing them to walk back north and start jumping the three ledges back towards the Pokémon Day Care. Another trivial difference is the addition of bigger tall grass patches after jumping the ledges to get to the Pokémon Day Care, however, this might counter the fact that the Pokémon Day Care is located closer to the edge of the ledge.

Apart from this, most aesthetic features have been enhanced. Trees have become bigger, the cement road has been changed to a gravel path, flowers are more visible and most other sprites have been upgraded to Generation III standards.

Generation II

In Generation II, the route was shortened slightly with the number of tall grass patches and ledges reduces from three to two. Like in Generation III, the tall grass patches have increased in size, however, this might counter the fact that the Pokémon Day Care is located closer to the edge of the ledge. The Pokémon Day Care run by the old man is removed due to the addition of an Pokémon Day Care located in the Goldenrod City area on Route 34 of Johto. The Pokémon Day Care on Route 5 was possibly moved to Route 34, or removed entirely. Once the Pokémon Day Care is removed, it is replaced with a house of which an old woman dwells, giving away a Cleanse Tag to Trainers who enter.

Generation IV

Route 5 has changed completely in its Generation IV appearance. The layout has changed dramatically, as the path to the house has been blocked off while several ledges were remove and stairs took their place. From Cerulean City, the route turns south, while Trainers can choose between going down the ledges or by traveling around it. If Trainers choose one of the pathways east or west of the ledged pathway, that will travel south, down a flight of stairs, until they get to the lookout station to Saffron City.

If Trainers choose the ledged path, it is a one-way path around down the contoured hill. If a Trainer jumps the first ledge, they will reach a single large patch of tall grass, and by traveling south, there will be a flight of stair which a Trainer can go up to the house of which an old lady and a young girl dwells, giving away a Cleanse Tag to Trainers who enter. At that point, Trainer are able to get down the contour two ways: take the stairs down then jump the ledge, or use HM08 (Rock Climb) down the hillside. The paths will then join back up where the Underground Path and the Saffron lookout station can be found.

The graphical features have also been updated to Generation IV standard, Due to this, the route is no longer flat, due to hills being added to change a more in-depth feel to the route. The addition of stairs and contours of hill sides create a 3D approach.

Ash and his friends stumbled across the Hidden Village by accident. They were trying to head to Vermilion City and had gotten lost. While on the way, Brock fell off of a bridge and was swept away by a river. Melanie rescued him, and she brought Ash and Misty to the village. Helping to protect the village was a Bulbasaur, who Melanie said volunteered to guard it. Although it meant well, the Bulbasaur was unintentionally causing all the Pokémon to stay in the village since it was so safe. After saving it from Team Rocket, Melanie asked Ash if he wanted Bulbasaur to come with him. Ash agreed, and captured the Bulbasaur.